Cruise report - 64PE456 onboard of R/V Pelagia Terceira Island 2019 - Hopper tow-cam video footage

Objectives: to explore deep-sea areas of the Azores EEZ to better understand the distribution patterns of large VME species and commercial fishes. Specifically, OKEANOS/IMAR/ATLAS/MapGES/iAtlantic objectives in the cruise were to (i) characterize benthic communities inhabiting seamounts in the Azores, such as the São Jorge de Fora seamount, (ii) identify new areas that fit the FAO vulnerable marine ecosystems criteria; and (iii) to contribute with additional data to address patterns and drivers of the distribution of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores region. It will also provide valuable information in the context of Good Environmental Status (GES) and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and provide new insights on how to sustainably manage deep-sea ecosystems. The information gathered in this cruise was obtained by means of the Hopper tow-cam system, an HD video platform specially designed to be operated onboard the R/V Pelagia.

Vessel: NIOZ R/V Pelagia

Summary: During the 64PE456 cruise, we performed 8 hopper dives in total, 4 in deep sandy bottom areas known to be important foraging grounds for marine mammals and 4 in the São Jorge de Fora seamount, a poorly known seamount south of Terceira Island. In total we collected 7:40 hours of video covering 4.5km of mostly sandy bottom in the abyssal plain and about 5:20 hours, covering 3.6km of the seamount seafloor.